OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE: To validate a protocol for the detection of malnutrition risk in a population of elderly patients admitted to a general hospital for non-surgical reasons.
Materials and method: The study involved 95 patients (34 of them male) over the age of 65 who were assessed on the third and fifth day after admission by means of a simple screening protocol (PC in its Spanish acronym) that considered recent changes in weight, serum albumin, lymphocyte concentration, food intake and diagnosis on admission, together with a more complex diagnostic protocol (PD in its Spanish acronym) including anthropometric, biochemical and immunological parameters. The PC was applied by personnel not expert in nutrition, while the PD was carried out by persons trained in nutritional assessment. The results of the PC and PD were compared, with statistical significance being considered at levels of p < 0.05.
Results: According to the PD, 75 patients (78.9%) suffered protein-energy malnutrition (39 slight, 31 moderate, 5 severe). The score obtained in the PC had a significant relationship with the severity of the malnutrition diagnosed using PD (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the absence or presence of nutritional risk assessed using the PC had a significant correlation with the diagnosis of malnutrition and its degree according to the PD (p < 0.01), thus indicating the validity of the PC as a method for screening of malnutrition.
Conclusions: 1. In our population of geriatric patients admitted for reasons other than surgery, there was a high prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition. 2. The risk of malnutrition in an elderly population in hospital settings is appropriately assessed by means of a simple screening test effected by non-specialized personnel. 3. The score obtained in the PC is linked with the presence of malnutrition and with its severity. 4. The use of simple screening techniques in populations with a high prevalence of malnutrition may contribute to the detection and correction of this problem.